Blake weighs in with a brace

Of all the feathers Dennis Wise has ruffled since his arrival at Elland Road, the 'issue' of Robbie Blake's waistline has probably been one of the most humorous.

To the unassuming eye, Blake might be heavily set, not overweight, but after scoring twice and inspiring Leeds to a comfortable win over Colchester on Saturday, a grinning Wise happily reported of his forward, "we can see an ab now." With all the running he did on Saturday, it's hardly surprising. A mantra of hard work on the training ground and on matchdays has been rightly forced on Blake and his team-mates who followed up the grafting display at home against Southend with another clean sheet and victory over Colchester United.

The Leeds manager had been busy doing his own version of work in the transfer market last week and brought in centre-half Matt Heath from Coventry City on loan. The lanky defender adopted a relatively deep position as part of a rejigged back four that was without the services of an injured Gary Kelly and former captain Paul Butler. They coped as well as Wise could have expected — mopping up Colchester's tidy midfield play without being seriously tested in a first half that lacked rhythm.

The marauding Blake, meanwhile, decided he'd had enough of the considered approach and on 36 minutes ran through the opposition's midfield before planting a low drive past the outstretched fingers of Aidan Davison. Any tension there had been soon evaporated as Leeds began to play the kind of relaxed football that took them to last season's play-off final. A perfectly arced cross from the left by Eddie Lewis shortly after the restart was met by the head of Richard Creswell to provide a two-goal cushion, and the Leeds striker was then pushed by John White in the box for Blake to cheekily chip the ball over Davison from the spot in the 53rd minute. "Since I came here, Robbie has been our little gem," said Wise. "I believe in him, Gus Poyet (assistant manager) believes in him and the team believes in him because he's got so much ability."

There followed half an hour where Colchester played with all the flair and endeavour that had seen them defeat leaders Cardiff in their last outing.

Johnnie Jackson hit the outside of the post and Kevin McLeod miscued his shot from eight yards as they desperately tried to gain a foothold in the game. The damage though had been done. "For some reason we just weren't at the races," said manager Geraint Williams. "We had too many players off form."

Meanwhile, Wise confirmed his interest in bringing former Leeds player Alan Smith back to Elland Road in a loan deal from Manchester United. "It's something we're trying to make happen, but I haven't managed to speak to Alan yet," he added.